Genesis 12:1-9
March 1, 2026
During the European wars of the early 1800s, the first wave of soldiers that were used to break through an enemy stronghold were known as the “forlorn hope.” These troops usually faced tremendous danger and their chances of survival were extremely low. Most of them knew they would be killed, but the hope was that some of them could survive long enough to seize an opening that could then be reinforced with a second wave of soldiers who would come in while the enemy was reloading. The “forlorn hope” was often composed of ambitious junior officers, who were hoping for personal advancement if their soldiers survived or performed courageously, and by criminals who had been sentenced to death.
But there is a big difference between the “forlorn hope,” which was really a hopeless hope, and a “hope against hope,” which is what Abraham faced in our Old Testament lesson for today. Abraham was chosen by God to be the father of His people, the Jews. Now Abraham and the Jews were not better than anyone else, but through them God would bring a Savior – His Son, Jesus – into the world. So how was Abraham chosen to be the forefather of our Savior?
In the opening verse of our text God says to Abraham, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” The way God dealt with Abraham is typical of the way He deals with all people. If contact between God and any person is to be established, God has to make the first move. Therefore, one facet of faith is that it is a gift from God. Had God not come to Abraham, Abraham never would have believed in Him. The same was true with the disciples, as Jesus said to them in the Gospel of John, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.” And the same is true for all of us – God chose us and gave us the gift of faith.
But why would God choose to give faith to Abraham? He hadn’t done anything special. What’s interesting is that the book of Joshua tells us that Abraham’s father, Terah, worshipped idols. While we do not know for sure if Abraham also worshipped those idols, God intervened in his life out of His love for Abraham, so that he would not follow in His father’s footsteps. The same thing could be said about all of us. If God had not used our parents, grandparents, family members, friends, or a neighbor to bring us into contact with Him and His Word, we would not have a relationship with Him and we would be facing eternal death and separation from God because of our sins.
So when God told Abraham to go to a land I will show you, it was not like the “forlorn hope,” where Abraham would face a certain death; it was more like a “hope against hope,” in that it did not necessarily make sense as God did not tell Abraham exactly where the land was located or even give him a map. I mean, imagine Abraham telling his wife, Sarah, “Let’s move somewhere else” “Ok, where?” asks Sarah. “I don’t know” says Abraham, “but let’s go, start packing.” “What will the area or our new home look like?” asks Sarah. “I have no idea” says Abraham. All God did was to make a series of promises to Abraham saying “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” And with those promises Abraham took his wife and his nephew and they left. I think that’s an amazing faith.
Faith is a certain confidence based on the rock solid promises of God, and in that way Christianity is truly unique. When God wants to move us to action He does so not by demanding, but by promising. For example, when God tells us not to be afraid, He doesn’t just command it, but He promises to protect and provide for us, thereby giving us a reason to hope and not be afraid. Therefore, a second facet of faith is that true faith is not based on our feelings; instead it is founded on God’s promises. I’m sure Abraham was very apprehensive about leaving the comforts of his homeland and going to some unknown place, but even though he was 75 years old and had no idea where he was going, he went because of God’s promises.
God’s promises still move people to do great things today. How is it that people we know can remain strong when financially they are really struggling? How can one remain confident in life when he or she suffers the loss of a child? How can one remain optimistic when a loved one is hurting with a disease or when your own health is failing? You can because of the strength that God gives us through His Word. It’s very easy to be envious of Abraham’s faith and wish that you could trust God in the way he did. But we should keep in mind that Abraham did not always have faith in God’s promises. While God told him that he would be the father of many nations and that this would happen through his wife, Sarah, later on he started to doubt when Sarah was in her 80s (way past child bearing years) and he was nearing 100. Abraham and Sarah even came up with their own plan to help God fulfill His promise to Abraham that he would be the father of many nations by having Abraham get together with another woman, who was much younger, so that he could have a child. And while the plan worked, as Abraham had a child with that woman, it was not God’s plan. God promised Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child and God doesn’t break His promises. Even though Abraham and Sarah were very old, even though they doubted God, He still fulfilled His promise to them by eventually blessing them with a son.
There are many times when we may doubt God, especially when we do not understand His ways just as Abraham and Sarah did, but when we put our faith in God’s Word, He will enable us to do some great things just as Abraham did.
In fact, to make our faith stronger God will even exercise it. He did that with Abraham when Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan. We are told in our Old Testament lesson that there were Canaanites living in the land when Abraham arrived, which means that God did not bring Abraham to an empty piece of land. Before he or his descendants could live there, they would have to remove the Canaanites. I’m sure that was somewhat shocking to Abraham. So to reaffirm His promise and to strengthen Abraham’s faith, God appeared to Abraham and told him that the land was only for Abraham’s descendants.
And God still puts people in situations where He strengthens their faith by forcing them to rely on His promises. He does this so that we won’t just have a head knowledge of His faithfulness, but so that we can tell others that we have experienced for ourselves how the Lord is good and faithful. Therefore, when God puts you in such a challenging situation consider thanking Him for the opportunity to exercise your faith and seeing how God will keep all of His promises to you.
The final facet of faith that we see in this text is how faith is public. After God appeared to Abraham and told him that the land was for his descendants, our text says that Abraham built an altar there to the Lord. And then he traveled another 25 miles and built an altar to the Lord in that area. Abraham did not hide the fact that he worshipped a different God than the Canaanites. He built those altars, he prayed to God, and he shared God with others.
And our faith leads us to do the same thing when we gather here for worship on a Sunday morning. Our cars outside testify to those who drive by that there is something important going on in here and that worshipping God is at the top of our list of priorities. Plus, when we speak of God’s love for us even in the face of difficulty we also provide a witness to our faith. Since God has given us this wonderful gift of faith please don’t hide it, but proclaim it in your words and actions for that is what God has called us to do and He will give us the strength to do it.
So what is the most valuable thing you won? Your house? Your car? Your wedding ring? While those things may seem to be valuable they won’t last forever. The most valuable thing we have is our faith and God will polish it through His Word and our experiences, for even if we would lose everything else but still have faith, we are guaranteed life in God’s heavenly kingdom forever. That is our hope and our confidence. So cherish it and share it with others.
